


see purpose start to surface

by hollow_city



Category: The Flash (TV 2014), Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, Multiverse, Post-Season/Series 02, Post-Season/Series 03, Speed Force, various characters appear as part of the speed force
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-09
Updated: 2017-07-09
Packaged: 2018-11-21 09:12:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11354361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hollow_city/pseuds/hollow_city
Summary: wally west of earth-16 needs help to escape the speed force and barry allen of earth-1 needs to find his purpose after death. this is where they collide.





	see purpose start to surface

**Author's Note:**

> i don't know what brought this on, but i know two things. one: barry isn't gone forever considering they've already said wally won't take up the mantle in season four which... don't even get me started, and two: wally certainly isn't dead because i just refuse to believe it (and at this point, who even does?). i also debated on whether or not to have barry meet two alternate wallys, the one from young justice and the one from titans rebirth (no, not pre-rebirth when he was actually in the speed force for an undefinable amount of time, but because of his brief time in the speed force at the end of, i think, issue 6), but ultimately decided against it.

When Barry agreed to enter the Speed Force to halt the lightning storm and save Central City once again, he thought he was done for good. Three or four years as the Flash was enough, he had done his part. Now he could rest. He could rest in peace knowing he had done what he could to make the world better and knowing he left it better than he found it. 

But, turns out, that's not the only reason they brought him in. They need someone better, someone real and someone solid. 

Because Wally West needs someone better, real, and solid. After what has been done to him, he deserves more than the Speed Force can give him.

Because when Jay Garrick escaped the Speed Force and helped rid the world of Savitar, another speedster was sucked in to take his place. 

One Wallace Rudolph West, of Earth-16. While he would have died that day either way, as the hero of Earth-16, he was not meant to take Jay Garrick's place. He was not meant to suffer, not after what he had done for his friends, his family, his world. 

He was not meant to suffer like this. He was meant to find peace after death and become one with the force that gave him his power. But that did not happen.

And Barry Allen of Earth-1 could hold some of the blame, but he does not. He did what he could to trap Savitar and it worked, for a time. But now, Savitar is dead, and someone has to take that place. But that someone should not be Wally West.

This is what the Speed Force tells Barry as he resides peacefully within it, spending his days with his deceased parents and the woman that looks and sounds like Iris but is not really. They allow him his time to rest in peace, to bask in the reward that he deserves. Now that that time is over, they turn to him for help. He is one of the youngest speedsters within the confines of the Force--one of the youngest versions of himself--yet he is one of the wisest. This is why they turn to him. 

"Barry, we need your help," they tell him one day while hiding behind the face of Caitlin. "A mistake has been made, and you must fix it."

Said man is in the middle of playing catch with the twins he will never see born, and pauses to listen. He has grown used to the Speed Force using the faces of people he once knew, and can easily pick out when they are not going to be playing the part of the face they are wearing.

"What happened?" he asks, eyebrows furrowing. 

Caitlin's face scrunches and they take in a deep breath. " _We_ have made a mistake," they say, closing their eyes briefly. 

Barry lets go of the ball and glove, letting them hit the ground, before taking a step forward. 

"What do you mean?" he questions, studying Caitlin's face. He considers the words, before the wrinkles in his forehead smooth out. "You're not talking about me."

Caitlin's head shakes. "No. Your presence here is no mistake. This concerns the prison once constructed to hold Savitar."

Barry's eyes flash and he steps forward again. "I was told that I didn't have to worry about it, that you have someone in there, someone who deserves to be in there. You told me that Thawne is trapped in there."

Caitlin's eyes close again and they shake her head once more. "We are sorry, Barry. That is not true. We wish it to be, but at the moment, it is not."

The speedster's face twists with anger. "You lied to me, then. Well, if Thawne isn't in there, who is?" After a moment of glaring, he adds on, "and I want the truth this time."

They hold out Caitlin's hands in hopes of calming him. "Please, Barry, you must understand. This was not meant to happen. This is why we need your help to make sure it does not remain this way."

Barry's glare intensifies. "Tell me who you have trapped in that hellhole."

They hold his gaze for a moment before finally saying in a soft, sorrowful voice, "Wally West."

Every inch of his body freezes and his mouth opens, but no sound comes out. After a moment, something inside him seems to snap, and he's in front of them immediately.

"You have  _Wally_ in there?" he near yells, infuriated. 

They press a hand to the front of his shoulder, keeping him at a safe distance. He can't hurt them, as they are technically not real, but they still prefer to keep his anger at a minimum. 

"He is not your Wally West," they say, but Caitlin's eyes are still shining with sorrow. "But he is still Kid Flash, and he is being wrongfully imprisoned in the prison that once held Savitar."

Barry runs both hands through his hair, letting out a loud breath.

"Okay. Okay, he's not the Wally I knew, but you want me to help him. Why can't you do anything? He's technically... trapped in, you know,  _you_. Why do you need me to do it?" he questions, waving one hand around as he speaks. 

They cross Caitlin's arms and refuse to break his gaze. "He may be trapped in the Speed Force, but we are unable to make any changes to the prison that you have constructed. Don't you think we would have done something to prevent Savitar from escaping if we could?"

Barry considers that for a moment before his shoulders sag. "Doesn't he have anyone from his Earth in here? That could help him? I don't know if he'll appreciate seeing me, considering I'm technically the one who trapped him in here."

They shrug stiffly. "We don't know how he will feel once he sees you. But it does not matter. If you resemble his Barry Allen even a little, you may be able to break him from the prison. The only way to break your Wally free was for you to come here yourself. We are hoping that it is the same this time."

He crosses his arms and tilts his head back to look at the always clear blue sky. It doesn't take him very long to decide, and the twins scurry back inside the always warm and comforting house. 

As they take him to the prison, he asks about the boy who is not his Wally West.

"What's he like? How did he get in here?"

Caitlin slows a little. "His world was invaded by aliens, much like yours, but his was saved at the cost of his own life. He was pulled in at the same time Jay Garrick escaped, and we had no choice in the matter."

Barry hums in acknowledgment, before continuing. "If I can get Wally out of there, how do we get Thawne in?"

They cast him a look. "That is something we can handle without your help, we promise."

He looks skeptical but doesn't question it. 

When they finally reach the prison, Caitlin stops and allows Barry to step forward. The prison has changed from one hospital room to another. This one is much more high tech, and despite the pristine white walls and pristine white  _everything_ , still seems dark and cold. There is only one door, and it has a window in the middle, allowing him to see inside.

He leans back immediately, his face pinched with sadness. "Are these his friends?"

They nod guiltily, add, "and some family," and then refuse to speak anymore. 

Inside the room are several beds, all holding sickly and battered people. Some of them don't look human at all but resemble humans enough to be called people. They're all bruised and bloodied and connected to various machines. Four of them are female; a woman with vaguely Asian features and long blonde hair, a woman with sharp features and brown hair, a woman with dark skin and short hair, and a woman with green skin and bright red hair. The other five are male; a man with large muscles and black hair, a man with dark skin littered with pure black tattoos, a man with a shock of red hair and broad shoulders, a man with modelesque features, and a startlingly young boy with gaunt features and brown hair. They all wear what Barry assumes are their superhero suits. 

The beds are arranged in a circle and standing in the middle is a tall man with red hair. His shoulders are hunched, and his head is constantly turning as the heart monitors flatline, one at a time. Each time the deaths come full circle, it starts over, and he finds himself back at the beginning.

His friends are dying over and over again and he can't do anything but watch.

Barry might be able to say he knows what that felt like, once, but never to this extent. 

Caitlin doesn't have to ask him again to fix this.

He steps forward and yanks the door to the hospital room open, and for a few moments, Wally doesn't seem to notice him at all. He continues to watch as his friends and family die before his very eyes, and he looks like he wants to move and help, but his feet are glued to the floor.

"Wally?" Barry calls out, not getting close enough to touch him for fear of him attacking. 

The man--boy, really, now that Barry's close enough to see him--still doesn't react, so the elder speedster reaches out to touch his shoulder.

The redhead flinches violently and slowly turns around to stare blankly at Barry. When Barry calls out his name again, he snaps out of his stupor and his eyes travel sluggishly across his face. 

"Uncle Barry?" he finally asks, confusion and unfiltered pain drenching his voice. 

Barry can't help but wince. "I'm Barry Allen, but I'm not your Barry Allen," he tells him, expecting the worst. 

But he doesn't get what he was expecting. He gets something far worse than even that.

Wally seems to snap. " _I don't care_ ," he sobs all at once, throwing himself at Barry and gripping him so tight he feels like he's going to burst. "You're  _alive_."

Barry doesn't turn down the hug and gladly returns it, hoping to ease at least some of the boy's pain.

"Wally, listen to me," he finally says, pushing the younger speedster to arm's length. The boy looks like he wants nothing more than to curl back again him and ignore everything happening around him, but Barry pretends he doesn't see that and plows on. "You have to come with me. I can get you out of here, and I can help you. You aren't supposed to be here."

Wally's confusion only intensifies, and he looks so unbelievably young and innocent that Barry wants to cry.

"What do you mean? I did this, this is my fault, I deserve to be here," he rambles, his breath coming in quick gasps. 

Barry shakes his head immediately. "No, none of this is real, Wally. None of this is real."

The redhead blinks those wide, green eyes up at him. "R-Really? But... but it's so..."

He continues shaking his head. "Believe me, this is not real. Nothing you see here is real."

He hopes like hell that it's not real on Earth-16 because the kid will be crushed, for real this time.

Not wanting Wally to see this room anymore, he turns him away and makes eye contact with Caitlin. They nod slowly and slowly dissipate. Before Wally and Barry are even fully out of them room, a flash of red lightning lights up the room and the whole scene changes. The elder speedster doesn't stick around to see what it's like because he does not want to know what Eobard Thawne's nightmares are like. 

When they are far enough away from the prison and back the warm and comforting house that Barry has been residing in, Iris appears. He can tell that this is the Speed Force speaking directly to him again because they are far too stiff and unusual to be his Iris. 

"Wallace West," they address the younger speedster blankly. "We express our deepest regrets for your time spent in the prison."

Wally's eyes widen with awe, and he straightens a little underneath the arm Barry had previously slung over his shoulder.

"You're the Speed Force," he croaks, his voice still hoarse from what must have felt like centuries of relentless tears. His awe falls away quickly, though, and is replaced with something unidentifiable. "You did this to me..."

Iris takes a sharp breath. "We are well aware. Which is why we wish to give you back the one thing you deserve."

Barry knows what is coming, and he is not jealous at all because they are right. If what he has been told about this Wally is true, he deserves this.

"We wish to give you a long life, one that you deserve if you so wish to have it," they continue, and if Barry didn't know better, he'd say that the goddamn Speed Force is  _uncomfortable._ "Do you wish to have it?"

Wally stumbles over his words for a moment, before he nods vigorously. He turns to Barry and latches onto him again.

" _Thank you_ , for saving me," he says against Barry's shoulder, his own hands trembling. 

Barry smiles. "You don't have to thank me, Wally. You didn't deserve to be in there."

When the redhead pulls away, the Speed Force morphs into someone else, the shorter, black-haired man with the striking blue eyes. They lead Wally away, and Barry loses sight of them rather quickly. 

As he stands there, staring into space where they once were, something painful in his chest loosens that he hadn't realized was there before.

He had felt that agreeing to remain in the Speed Force and allowing Team Flash to continue on their own was his way of atoning for his mistakes. But no, that was not it.

This, instead, was his way. Because now the nightmarish killer known as the Reverse Flash resides in that prison, and an innocent soul runs free. 

This is what he has been silently waiting for, and it feels wonderful.

_It feels wonderful._

 

**Author's Note:**

> i spent a lot of time considering how i wanted to do this because i wanted to make sure it was perfect, and it ended up being completely different than how it was at the beginning, but i think i like it better this way. i only included the team from season 1 (and bart because he's technically family) because i feel as though wally would be closer to them than the season 2 team considering he was retired for the majority of it.


End file.
